Baseball Waited Too Long on Santo
Sometimes I just shake my head.
I wonder why honoring committees, whether it be state, university or professional, wait until a person is gone before they are recognized.
Having worked with both the University of South Dakota Coyote Sports Hall of Fame and now with the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, I can tell you first-hand that a lot of candidates have credentials that make them deserving ofn recognition. I know it is a difficult task in making decisions on who deserves enshrinement. It takes a lot of deliberation and hard work.
Still, I wonder why we don't act when we know a deserving person is in the final stages of life. I acknowledge that sometimes, it can't be helped. And, yes, decisions on Hall of Fame inductions (and other honoring events) is subjective.
Still...
Until it was announced earlier this fall by Baseball's Veteran's Hall of Fame Committee, Ron Santo, one of baseball's all-time greats at third base, was continually bypassed for induction. Then, one year after his death (December, 2010), Ron Santo's name was called for enshrinement.
Why couldn't baseball's shrine recognize for Santo before he died? I haven't heard a good answer.
One of Santo's Cubs teammates and Veteran's Committee member Billy Williams, said the discussion and vote on Santo's candidacy extended beyond his play on the field. "Everybody saw the numbers -- the home runs, the Gold Gloves. But I think they looked at (him) with a different view," Williams told USA Today Sports Weekly.
Billy, what was that different view? Are you suggesting, for whatever reason, that the HOF made a mistake in not recognizing him before he died?
Santo was one of baseball's true gentlemen and someone that had given his heart and soul to a game (baseball) and an organization (Chicago) since he signed an amateur free agent deal in 1959. He was the Cubs color announcer for 20 years after a distinguished playing career that included nine All-Star elections, 342 home runs and five Gold Gloves.
His wife Vicki took the high road and voiced no complaint about his posthumous induction. In USA Today Sports Weekly, she said: "He'd be pumping his fist in the air, saying 'yes,' yes,' like he did with so much enthisiasm as a player and when he was broadcasting. It would be the same gesture of elation."
She also said that her husband was destined for the Hall, "obviously, not in his lifetime," she said. "But this continues the legacy of his heart that he played with, that he broadcast with and for all the good he did for juvenile diabetes research. This carries that legacy forward," Vicki Santo said to the USA Today about her husband, who died in 2010 due to complication of bladder cancer. He had lost both of his legs below the knees due to complications of diabetes.
While Vicki Santo can take the higher road, my stance is down the other road. Why didn't he get the chance to cherish this honor - one of the two things (playing in the World Series) that he desired most.
Let's take a sidebar for a moment, if I might use a legal reference. It isn't just Baseball's Hall of Fame Committee that needs to wake up. I find real fault in the leadership of the Detroit Tigers, the baseball team I have loyaly followed my whole life, that they did not retire Sparky Anderson's number #11 until this summer, a year after he had died.
Like with Santo, I haven't heard a viable reason from Detroit's management on the delayed decision to honor Anderson, a Bridgewater, S.D., native, who won three World Series titles, two with Cincinnati and one with Detroit. A two-time A.L. manager of the year (1984, 1987), he won 1,331 games with the Tigers and turned a young and talented Tigers team into a champion. He was the first manager ever to win a championship in both leagues. His 2,194 wins as a big league manager is the sixth most in history.
Anderson was enshrined in Cooperstown in 2000. The Reds did him justice while he was alive by retiring his number #10 in 2005. For some reason the Tigers were at loggerheads about taking such a deserved measure - waiting until he was gone.
Are you listening Minnesota? Don't wait to retire the number of Tom Kelly, the manager of the Twins' 1987 and 1991 World Series champions.
Back to Santo, who finally goes into Cooperstown. His family will be there -- his wife Vicki -- front and center. All we will see of Ron Santo is images through videos and photograhs. We won't be able to cherish the moment through his eyes and words. That is wrong.
Born Feb. 25, 1940, Santo was a 6-0, 190 third baseman who had 1,332 RBI and a .277 batting average in a career with the Cubs and White Sox. While Santo was never voted MVP, he finished fourth in the balloting in 1967 when he had 31 HR 98 RBI and hit .300 with a .512 slugging percentage. Two years later, he had 29 HR and 123 RBI and hit .289 when the Cubs seemingly had the pennant in their hands only to falter down the stretch as the "Miracle" Mets overtook the Cubs. Four times in his career he had over 100 RBI. From 1964-67, he hit over 30 HRs four straight seasons.
Santo discussed his potential induction with Derek Gentile of the Berkshire Eagle (Mass) before he died. He said: "If it happens, it happens," he said. "I can't control that. My biggest thrill in baseball was having my number [10] retired by the Cubs. Would it be an honor [to be elected]? Of course. But who knows if it will ever happen?"
As a broadcaster, Santo was heard saying "Yes! Yes!" or "All Right" when good things happened to his beloved Cubs and "Oh No!" or "It's Bad!" when the opposite happened.
I can hear Santo finally saying "All Right" from the heavens. Yes, I agree, Ronnie, "all right" is right.
Listen, committee folk, review critically credentials and achievements and the way they represented themselves and the game. Be prudent but wise. Let's not hear Ron Santo's Ghosts ringing "Oh, No," because another worthy candidate was bypassed after he was gone.
I know that Gil Hodges passed at a young age (47) but give his family the recognition that this revered former Dodger should receive. Then, act on Tony Olivia, Jim Kaat, Tommy John and a few others that should be able to celebrate deserving Hall of Fame enshrinement with family and friends at Cooperstown. The humaness of such action will resonate for a long while.
Here are some others players that have been bypassed by Baseball's Hall and deserve enshrinement, at least according to this writer (and baseball fan).
Gil Hodges. It continues to baffle me why he still remains shunned by the HOF. Clearly, one of the best defensive first basemen ever, he hit 370 HRs and had 1,274 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star, Hodges won three Gold Gloves. Hodges was the manager for the 1969 New York "Miracle" Mets, which remains one of the game's greatest comeback stories. He was one of the "Boys of Summer" for the Brooklyn Dodgers but died at 47in 1972. He may be the most revered player not in the hall. A World War II veteran, Hodges received the Bronze Star for his work as an anti-aircraft gunner at the battles of Tinian and Okinawa.
Tommy John. He played 26 season, recording a 288-231 record with the win total the seventh most by a lefthander in league history. John had 2,245 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA, including winning 20 games three times after ligament surgery, which was a medical procedure later named for him. A four-time All-Star he was the NL Comback Player of the Year in 1976. John ranks 26th (one win ahead of Bert Blyleven) in all-time wins. He played in three World Series but never on the winning team (Dodgers and Yankees).
Tony Oliva. He won three batting titles and led the American League in hits five times during the pitcher-dominated 1960s. He was voted an All-Star eight straight seasons to begin his big league career, a total that surpassed Joe Dimaggio's six. Oliva won the 1964 A.L. Rookie of the Year honor and won a Gold Glove in 1966. A career .304, he had 220 HRs, 947 RBIs, 1,917 hits and 329 doubles in a career plagued by injuries. He and his wife, Gordette Dubois were married in Hitchcock, S.D. in the 1960s.
Jim Kaat. Kaat, who spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Twins, had a record of 283-237 during 25 seasons and also won 16 straight Golden Gloves. Kaat finished with 2,461 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.45. A three-time All-Star, Kaat won a world series with St. Louis in 1982. At the time of his retirement, his 25-year career, which spanned seven presidencies, was the longest in baseball history. An outstanding baseball broadcaster, Kaat has won seven Emmys for sports broadcasting.
Ron Guidry. While Guidry had a relatively short career of 14 seasons, he fashioned a 170-91 mark with 1,778 strikeouts and 3.29 ERA. He had a dominating 25-3 season in 1978 when he had nine shutouts, 248 Ks with a 1.74 ERA. Guidry won the Cy Young Award, finishing 2nd in MVP voting to Jim Rice of Boston. A four-time All Star, "Louisiana Lightning" won five Gold Gloves and was a member of two World Series-winning teams. Six times, he finished in the top 10 of the American League Cy Young Award voting. He was the first pitcher in baseball history (matched once since) who struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a complete game. Guidry once struck out 18 batters in a game.
Ken Boyer. One of the league's best gloves at the hot corner, Boyer was a seven-time All Star, five-time Gold Glove-winner, and the 1964 NL MVP in helping St. Louis to a World Series title. In his career, he had 282 HRs and a .287 batting average.
Thurman Munson. A seven-time All Star, three-time Gold Glove-winning catcher, and American League MVP in 1976 when he led his New York Yankees to the World Series, Munson appeared on-track for Cooperstown until his death in a small plane crash on August 2, 1979 at 32. The customary five-year waiting period was waved so Munson could appear on the ballot in 1981. He has never received significant support in voting but deserves to be honored.
Bill Freehan. A five-time Gold Glove winner and 11-time All Star, Freehan hit .262 with 200 HRs and 758 RBIs. His 11 All-Star game appearances is the most by any player that is not in Cooperstown. He caught the most games in Detroit Tigers history and his 1,581 games caught ranks ninth in baseball history. Playing one of the most demanding positions, Freehan was a quiet leader for the 1968 Tigers, which won the World Series. He finished with 1,591 hits and 248 doubles. Freehman showed his grit not only behind the plate and by surviving 15 years and being hit by pitch 114 times. He held the major league record for fielding percentage (.9933) until broken by Dan Wilson in 2002.
There are many more deserving individuals such as Norm Cash (Tigers, 371 HRs, 5-time All-Star, 1,103 RBIs, 1961 A.L. batting champ, two-time comeback player of the year. 1968 World Series champion), "Smoky" Joe Wood (Red Sox/Indians, AL ERA champ in 1915, 117-57, 2.03 ERA, 34-5 in 1912, two 20-win seasons, member of three World Series teams, injury cut short pitching career, later Yale U coach with 283-225-1 record, considered by some among 100-best players of all-time despite short pitching career), and Rocky Covalito (Tigers/Indians, 374 HRs, 9-time All Star, 1,159 RBIs, 1730 hits).
I wonder why honoring committees, whether it be state, university or professional, wait until a person is gone before they are recognized.
Having worked with both the University of South Dakota Coyote Sports Hall of Fame and now with the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, I can tell you first-hand that a lot of candidates have credentials that make them deserving ofn recognition. I know it is a difficult task in making decisions on who deserves enshrinement. It takes a lot of deliberation and hard work.
Still, I wonder why we don't act when we know a deserving person is in the final stages of life. I acknowledge that sometimes, it can't be helped. And, yes, decisions on Hall of Fame inductions (and other honoring events) is subjective.
Still...
Until it was announced earlier this fall by Baseball's Veteran's Hall of Fame Committee, Ron Santo, one of baseball's all-time greats at third base, was continually bypassed for induction. Then, one year after his death (December, 2010), Ron Santo's name was called for enshrinement.
Why couldn't baseball's shrine recognize for Santo before he died? I haven't heard a good answer.
One of Santo's Cubs teammates and Veteran's Committee member Billy Williams, said the discussion and vote on Santo's candidacy extended beyond his play on the field. "Everybody saw the numbers -- the home runs, the Gold Gloves. But I think they looked at (him) with a different view," Williams told USA Today Sports Weekly.
Billy, what was that different view? Are you suggesting, for whatever reason, that the HOF made a mistake in not recognizing him before he died?
Santo was one of baseball's true gentlemen and someone that had given his heart and soul to a game (baseball) and an organization (Chicago) since he signed an amateur free agent deal in 1959. He was the Cubs color announcer for 20 years after a distinguished playing career that included nine All-Star elections, 342 home runs and five Gold Gloves.
His wife Vicki took the high road and voiced no complaint about his posthumous induction. In USA Today Sports Weekly, she said: "He'd be pumping his fist in the air, saying 'yes,' yes,' like he did with so much enthisiasm as a player and when he was broadcasting. It would be the same gesture of elation."
She also said that her husband was destined for the Hall, "obviously, not in his lifetime," she said. "But this continues the legacy of his heart that he played with, that he broadcast with and for all the good he did for juvenile diabetes research. This carries that legacy forward," Vicki Santo said to the USA Today about her husband, who died in 2010 due to complication of bladder cancer. He had lost both of his legs below the knees due to complications of diabetes.
While Vicki Santo can take the higher road, my stance is down the other road. Why didn't he get the chance to cherish this honor - one of the two things (playing in the World Series) that he desired most.
Let's take a sidebar for a moment, if I might use a legal reference. It isn't just Baseball's Hall of Fame Committee that needs to wake up. I find real fault in the leadership of the Detroit Tigers, the baseball team I have loyaly followed my whole life, that they did not retire Sparky Anderson's number #11 until this summer, a year after he had died.
Like with Santo, I haven't heard a viable reason from Detroit's management on the delayed decision to honor Anderson, a Bridgewater, S.D., native, who won three World Series titles, two with Cincinnati and one with Detroit. A two-time A.L. manager of the year (1984, 1987), he won 1,331 games with the Tigers and turned a young and talented Tigers team into a champion. He was the first manager ever to win a championship in both leagues. His 2,194 wins as a big league manager is the sixth most in history.
Anderson was enshrined in Cooperstown in 2000. The Reds did him justice while he was alive by retiring his number #10 in 2005. For some reason the Tigers were at loggerheads about taking such a deserved measure - waiting until he was gone.
Are you listening Minnesota? Don't wait to retire the number of Tom Kelly, the manager of the Twins' 1987 and 1991 World Series champions.
Back to Santo, who finally goes into Cooperstown. His family will be there -- his wife Vicki -- front and center. All we will see of Ron Santo is images through videos and photograhs. We won't be able to cherish the moment through his eyes and words. That is wrong.
Born Feb. 25, 1940, Santo was a 6-0, 190 third baseman who had 1,332 RBI and a .277 batting average in a career with the Cubs and White Sox. While Santo was never voted MVP, he finished fourth in the balloting in 1967 when he had 31 HR 98 RBI and hit .300 with a .512 slugging percentage. Two years later, he had 29 HR and 123 RBI and hit .289 when the Cubs seemingly had the pennant in their hands only to falter down the stretch as the "Miracle" Mets overtook the Cubs. Four times in his career he had over 100 RBI. From 1964-67, he hit over 30 HRs four straight seasons.
Santo discussed his potential induction with Derek Gentile of the Berkshire Eagle (Mass) before he died. He said: "If it happens, it happens," he said. "I can't control that. My biggest thrill in baseball was having my number [10] retired by the Cubs. Would it be an honor [to be elected]? Of course. But who knows if it will ever happen?"
As a broadcaster, Santo was heard saying "Yes! Yes!" or "All Right" when good things happened to his beloved Cubs and "Oh No!" or "It's Bad!" when the opposite happened.
I can hear Santo finally saying "All Right" from the heavens. Yes, I agree, Ronnie, "all right" is right.
Listen, committee folk, review critically credentials and achievements and the way they represented themselves and the game. Be prudent but wise. Let's not hear Ron Santo's Ghosts ringing "Oh, No," because another worthy candidate was bypassed after he was gone.
I know that Gil Hodges passed at a young age (47) but give his family the recognition that this revered former Dodger should receive. Then, act on Tony Olivia, Jim Kaat, Tommy John and a few others that should be able to celebrate deserving Hall of Fame enshrinement with family and friends at Cooperstown. The humaness of such action will resonate for a long while.
Here are some others players that have been bypassed by Baseball's Hall and deserve enshrinement, at least according to this writer (and baseball fan).
Gil Hodges. It continues to baffle me why he still remains shunned by the HOF. Clearly, one of the best defensive first basemen ever, he hit 370 HRs and had 1,274 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star, Hodges won three Gold Gloves. Hodges was the manager for the 1969 New York "Miracle" Mets, which remains one of the game's greatest comeback stories. He was one of the "Boys of Summer" for the Brooklyn Dodgers but died at 47in 1972. He may be the most revered player not in the hall. A World War II veteran, Hodges received the Bronze Star for his work as an anti-aircraft gunner at the battles of Tinian and Okinawa.
Tommy John. He played 26 season, recording a 288-231 record with the win total the seventh most by a lefthander in league history. John had 2,245 strikeouts and a 3.34 ERA, including winning 20 games three times after ligament surgery, which was a medical procedure later named for him. A four-time All-Star he was the NL Comback Player of the Year in 1976. John ranks 26th (one win ahead of Bert Blyleven) in all-time wins. He played in three World Series but never on the winning team (Dodgers and Yankees).
Tony Oliva. He won three batting titles and led the American League in hits five times during the pitcher-dominated 1960s. He was voted an All-Star eight straight seasons to begin his big league career, a total that surpassed Joe Dimaggio's six. Oliva won the 1964 A.L. Rookie of the Year honor and won a Gold Glove in 1966. A career .304, he had 220 HRs, 947 RBIs, 1,917 hits and 329 doubles in a career plagued by injuries. He and his wife, Gordette Dubois were married in Hitchcock, S.D. in the 1960s.
Jim Kaat. Kaat, who spent the majority of his career with the Minnesota Twins, had a record of 283-237 during 25 seasons and also won 16 straight Golden Gloves. Kaat finished with 2,461 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.45. A three-time All-Star, Kaat won a world series with St. Louis in 1982. At the time of his retirement, his 25-year career, which spanned seven presidencies, was the longest in baseball history. An outstanding baseball broadcaster, Kaat has won seven Emmys for sports broadcasting.
Ron Guidry. While Guidry had a relatively short career of 14 seasons, he fashioned a 170-91 mark with 1,778 strikeouts and 3.29 ERA. He had a dominating 25-3 season in 1978 when he had nine shutouts, 248 Ks with a 1.74 ERA. Guidry won the Cy Young Award, finishing 2nd in MVP voting to Jim Rice of Boston. A four-time All Star, "Louisiana Lightning" won five Gold Gloves and was a member of two World Series-winning teams. Six times, he finished in the top 10 of the American League Cy Young Award voting. He was the first pitcher in baseball history (matched once since) who struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a complete game. Guidry once struck out 18 batters in a game.
Ken Boyer. One of the league's best gloves at the hot corner, Boyer was a seven-time All Star, five-time Gold Glove-winner, and the 1964 NL MVP in helping St. Louis to a World Series title. In his career, he had 282 HRs and a .287 batting average.
Thurman Munson. A seven-time All Star, three-time Gold Glove-winning catcher, and American League MVP in 1976 when he led his New York Yankees to the World Series, Munson appeared on-track for Cooperstown until his death in a small plane crash on August 2, 1979 at 32. The customary five-year waiting period was waved so Munson could appear on the ballot in 1981. He has never received significant support in voting but deserves to be honored.
Bill Freehan. A five-time Gold Glove winner and 11-time All Star, Freehan hit .262 with 200 HRs and 758 RBIs. His 11 All-Star game appearances is the most by any player that is not in Cooperstown. He caught the most games in Detroit Tigers history and his 1,581 games caught ranks ninth in baseball history. Playing one of the most demanding positions, Freehan was a quiet leader for the 1968 Tigers, which won the World Series. He finished with 1,591 hits and 248 doubles. Freehman showed his grit not only behind the plate and by surviving 15 years and being hit by pitch 114 times. He held the major league record for fielding percentage (.9933) until broken by Dan Wilson in 2002.
There are many more deserving individuals such as Norm Cash (Tigers, 371 HRs, 5-time All-Star, 1,103 RBIs, 1961 A.L. batting champ, two-time comeback player of the year. 1968 World Series champion), "Smoky" Joe Wood (Red Sox/Indians, AL ERA champ in 1915, 117-57, 2.03 ERA, 34-5 in 1912, two 20-win seasons, member of three World Series teams, injury cut short pitching career, later Yale U coach with 283-225-1 record, considered by some among 100-best players of all-time despite short pitching career), and Rocky Covalito (Tigers/Indians, 374 HRs, 9-time All Star, 1,159 RBIs, 1730 hits).
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